Abandoning the North

The impression on this board (and maybe the truth) seems to be that a Democrat can only be competetive in the South if they are from the South.  Is it that our policies are so weak only a sense of regionalism can get a candidate elected?  Is it that the South is so regionalist they refuse to consider a Northerner?  I honestly don't know.  

And, as a Northerner (from rural PA), I feel a bit disenfranchised that the South gets to dictate our politics (and politicians) almost exclusively.